The homes are tiny, but not the prices

Feb. 24, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Jim Zerboni has put his bright purple Capistrano Beach oceanfront cottage on the market for just under $2.8 million. The 1,020-square-foot house is in a guard-gated private beach community. Click through these photos to see more homes. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Address: 26 Surfside Unit C, Surfside

Listing: "Quaint and charming beach bungalow''

Details: The 842-square-foot remodeled beach home from 1930 is a few steps from the sand in a gated community that is part of Seal Beach. The bungalow, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, has vaulted ceilings, recessed lighting, a "newer" front door and exterior siding, skylights and ceiling fans, according to the listing, which also touts built-in kitchen seating, granite countertops, a double oven and built-in microwave, a Bosch dishwasher and indoor washer/dryer.

Asking price: $859,500 COURTESY PHOTO

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Address: 1428 Glenneyre St., Laguna Beach

Listing: "A warm, cozy home"

Details: Two Laguna Beach cottages on one lot, each turnkey after being “renovated, updated and restored.'' The front cottage has a living room with a fireplace, two bedrooms and one bathroom. The rear cottage has one bedroom and one bathroom with a separate entrance from the alley. "This entire property is ideal for someone who wants a beach home with an option for rental income," the listing agent says.

Asking price: $1.495 million COURTESY PHOTO

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Address: 217 Opal Ave., Newport Beach

Listing: "Desirable. Charming. Remodeled."

Details: This 1,078-square foot, single-level cottage has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, hardwood floors, bright white cabinets and stone counters, according to the listing agent. An open floor plan with French doors leads to a "spacious" patio for entertaining. A sale is pending.

Asking price: $1.5 million MARILYN KALFUS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Address: 2223 Pacific Drive, Corona del Mar

Listing: "Ideal building site"

Details: The listing photos for this 837-square-foot home, built in 1921, focus on the view. "Last remaining tear down on one of the most coveted streets in Corona del Mar," the agent says. The home is on a 1,590-square-foot lot.

Asking price: $1.99 million

MARILYN KALFUS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Address: 323 Onyx Ave., Newport Beach

Listing: "Adorable" cottage with a "sweet" patio

Details: The 1,012-square-foot cottage was originally built in 1930 and has hardwood floors, picture windows and a stone fireplace. The kitchen, open to the dining and living rooms, was redone with butcher-block counters, the listing says. The cottage has two bedrooms and one bathroom, plus a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment over the two-car garage added nine years ago. The cottage's French doors open to a brick patio. The property is a pending sale.

Asking price: $1.4 million MARILYN KALFUS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Address: 2708 Cove St., Corona del Mar

Listing: "The perfect getaway"

Details: This 1,100-square foot cottage steps from a private beach in China Cove has two bedrooms and one bathroom, with a fully equipped kitchen and sliding glass doors that open to views of the beach and bay, the listing agent says. The listing notes that a new three bedroom, three bathroom home of about 2,200 square feet with a basement could be built on the property, adding, "Renderings are available by request of potential buyer."

Asking price: $2 million

MARILYN KALFUS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Address: 31902 Sunset Ave., Laguna Beach

Listing: "Expansion possibilities for new owners"

Details: This 987-square-foot house on a hill has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, with a balcony and a 180-degree view that takes in miles of ocean. The 4,375-square foot lot offers new owners some options. To underscore the opportunity, the listing agent adds: "This home has not been in the market for over 60 years."

Asking price: $1.2 million MARILYN KALFUS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Address: 31746 4th Ave., Laguna Beach

Listing: Vintage cottage on a big lot

Details: This 763-square-foot house sits on an 8,150-square foot lot. The home has "vintage tongue and groove paneling and ceilings and is situated among mature fruit trees," the listing agent says. The home, a short walk to the beach and restaurants, also has a single-car detached garage with a lot of onsite parking.

Asking price: $1.1 million COURTESY PHOTO

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Address: 239 Carnation Ave., Corona del Mar

Listing: "A rare opportunity to build your dream home"

Details: The 894-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bathroom home, built in 1949, sits on a bluff with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean and Newport Harbor. The listing says the home is on a 4,800-square-foot lot, and that an architect's plans are available for review.

Asking price: $3.5 million MARILYN KALFUS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Address: 35665 Beach Road, Capistrano Beach

Listing: "Cozy cottage on the sand"

Details: The 1,020-square-foot, single-story purple home built in 1948 is on a guard-gated private beach. The house has three bedrooms – one converted from a garage – and a large deck steps from the ocean.

Asking price: $2.8 million CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Jim Zerboni enjoys a view of the Pacific Ocean from his tiny retreat on the sand on private Beach Road in Capistrano Beach. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Jim Zerboni has put his bright purple Capistrano Beach oceanfront cottage on the market for just under $2.8 million. The 1,020-square-foot house is in a guard-gated private beach community. Click through these photos to see more homes.CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

It's right on the ocean. It's bright purple. Fishermen use it to find their way.

At barely more than 1,000 square feet, it's one of few petite homes remaining along a nearly two-mile, private stretch of upscale houses on the Capistrano Beach coastline.

One thing about the home, built in 1948, is not small.

It's on the market for just under $2.8 million – $2,740 a square foot.

Tiny beach pads are part of vanishing California. They comprise just a sliver of the Orange County housing market. Many tend to be fixer-uppers built more than 50 years ago whose primary value is in the land.

Given where that land is located, these properties carry big price tags. Often buyers purchase the homes just to knock them down and put up something more grand. But others, like Zerboni, savor the compact spaces.

Zerboni, a divorced insurance lawyer, has seven children. As they grew up, most of the kids regularly spent nights together bunking down at the beach pad, shuttling between the purple house and a larger family home in San Clemente, he said. His oldest daughter later got married at the beach house.

"With the smaller location, we all had to deal with each other, and it was actually kind of fun,'' said Zerboni, 58, who is ready to shed his property and travel. "You couldn't go hide in your bedroom. It was very much an adventure.''

But, he also recalls, "A lot of investors just wanted to come in and tear this thing down.''

There's a good chance that may happen now.

"There are less and less (of these homes) every year as they are bought and rebuilt,'' said Realtor Ken Ross of Luxre Realty, the listing agent on the Zerboni house.

Here's a sampling of 10 tiny homes on the market in communities along the Orange County coast, with sizes ranging from 763 square feet to 1,100 square feet. The asking prices are $859,500 to $3.5 million.

We'll follow these properties in the months ahead and check back periodically to see which ones are still standing and which ones are gone - and what is built in their place.

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